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I am going with Rick Neiuheisel. Lots of experience in this conference. Knows Colorado Buffalo football inside and out. Stays one step ahead of the NCAA. He can bring the National Championship to Lincoln in two years tops.

The Huskers should look beyond the short list of Gill and Pelini. Those guys are both great choices, and good fits for Nebraska...but are they the best fit? They might be, but NU really can't aford another off-the-cuff hiring mistake.

Rather than waiting for a fired NFL coach, it would be best if Osborne found someone who knows the college game. Callahan, I'm sure, is a great NFL assistant, but that hasn't translated into a great NCAA head coach.

As I listen to the KSU-Husker game, (halftime), Callahan was asked how he accounts for the outstanding performance of his team today. His answer? "I don't know." This, after two attempted statements and a bit of stammering. This answer could be applied to this entire season, and there's the reason for a needed change.

I agree Jeff that the Husker's need to look beyond Gill and Pelini to see if there is a better choice available. Chris Peterson out of Boise should be considered, along with Brian Kelley from Cincinnati. Personally I like the idea of Pelini because of his high energy, motivation, and youth. I would not like to see us go the NFL route again. Pete Carol seems to be the only NFL guy that successfully made the transition. The NFL and college are so different.

I also don't believe with a lot of people out there citing we need a Nebraska guy to be our head coach. I like to compare our current situation with what happened to OU in the 90's. Gary Gibb's was the OU guy that was going to continue the legacy of Switzer, much like Solich was for us. After being unsuccessful against NU, CU, and Texas, Gibbs was fired, even though he never suffered a losing season. Sound familiar? OU then experimented with Schnellenberger for a while, which turned out to be a disaster. Next comes in John Blake, with an endorsement from Barry Switzer. John Blake is a great recruiter as we all know. Not a successful football coach. Blake, even though he is an OU guy, doesn't really embrace the tradition of OU, and after a few losing seasons, is fired. I would compare Callahan to the Schnellenberger/Blake years of OU. Blake brought tremendous talent to OU, but couldn't win with that talent. OU's next move, is the move that Nebraska needs next.

OU went outside of the OU family to find their next coach. They hired the best person available. When OU hired Stoops, everyone assumed Stoops would be replacing Hayden Frye at Iowa. Stoops played at Iowa, coached at K-State and Florida. The most important thing Stoops did upon his hiring though was to unite Sooner nation, embracing the tradition, and inviting Switzer back.

The next coach at Nebraska needs to be the best candidate available. Someone who will embrace the tradition and unite Husker nation. Stoops was never a head coach before he got to OU. In fact he was hired to the the defensive coordinator at Florida right after Nebraska torched the Gators 62-24 in the Fiesta Bowl. Florida won the National Championship the next year. Stoops took over at OU and quickly turned in a 7-5 season in his first year. His second year, a run to the national championship.

Never underestimate the importance of a good coach. There are a number of great choices out there, among them are Gill and Pelini, but let's not be short sighted. If Gill or Pelini are the best, that's great, but I hope we give consideration to all of the options.

My thoughts exactly. It's hard to tell who can succeed and who can't. That fellow, Craig Bohl, has turned the North Dakota State Bison into champions in their division...but was summarily dismissed by Nebraska. Ironically, Bohl's defense was generally better than Cosgrove's, but that's another story.

I am not, by the way, suggesting Craig Bohl as a succcessor...just that success sometimes comes from unlikely sources. And...what is this?...little Ricky Neuheisel? Oh please Lord, not Ricky. He doesn't look good in a red turtleneck.

At 1400 on 24 November, Tom Osborne will hold a news conference announcing Jack Bauer has been hired as the new Nebraska Head Coach. At 1359 on November 25 Bauer will call another newsconference announcing he has fixed the problem, the team has been purged of all evil elements and will then step down, hoping to spend more time with his daughter. Of course that will last only as long as it takes for Notre Dame to pick up the phone....

Seriously, I agree it is not necessarily going to be a Nebraska guy. But it needs to be a guy who knows what a major college football program is all about. Callahan may have been to the Super Bowl but look at his university experience. Some small college in Illinois. (If I wasn't so lazy I could look it up). I am leaning to Pelini although I am not convinced Callahan is going anywhere. Joe Gantz may have saved Bills job yesterday. On one hand I kind of hope so. The fans have been pretty rough on him and his family...not the Nebraska way. But on the other hand, Osborne may have inherited an expectation that everyone will get replaced and politically he may HAVE to make the change.